Malawi’s Prsidetital Elections: An Experience Worthy of Praise

Ambassador Atta al-Manan Bakhit
The Republic of Malawi is a small, landlocked country within the Southern African bloc. It remained a British protectorate until independence in 1964. Although the country has never experienced a military coup in its history, its experience with democracy and multi-party politics is relatively recent, dating back to 1994. Yet the democratic path was quickly strengthened thanks to the independence and integrity of the judiciary and the justice system.
The presidential elections held in the middle of this month attracted considerable attention across the continent and within the international community interested in Africa. The elections took place peacefully and with rare transparency for Africa. President Chakwera conceded defeat and congratulated his rival on the victory. The question arises: why is Malawi’s democracy regarded as exemplary, worthy of admiration and replication? And how is this linked to the integrity of its judicial system?
To appreciate Malawi’s outstanding experience in organising free and transparent elections, one must go back to 2019. At that time, a presidential election was contested between the then-incumbent President Peter Mutharika and the opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera. The Electoral Commission declared President Mutharika the winner for a second term, after which he was sworn in and assumed office. The opposition leader, however, rejected the Commission’s decision, lodging an appeal before the Constitutional Court and presenting strong evidence of widespread violations and fraud during the elections. The Court accepted the petition and began hearing the case.
I was visiting Malawi at the time and witnessed the opposition marches in the capital, Lilongwe, which ended at the Constitutional Court. I also listened to local media broadcasts of the opposition leader’s speeches, in which he repeatedly stressed his confidence in the integrity of the judiciary in his country and pledged to respect the Court’s ruling. Based on my knowledge of the perennial disputes between governments and opposition parties across Africa regarding electoral outcomes, I was convinced the Court would side with the president, and that the opposition campaign would end with some form of compromise—such as being granted ministerial posts, as often happens elsewhere on the continent. But the Constitutional Court took a very different stance.
More than six months after the announcement of the results, the Constitutional Court issued its binding legal judgment. The ruling, meticulously detailed in a 500-page volume, was presented during a live press conference lasting ten continuous hours, during which the five judges read out their decision. They nullified the election results, overturned the Commission’s declaration of President Mutharika’s victory, and ordered fresh presidential elections.
The Court’s ruling came as a thunderclap in Malawi, reverberating not only across Africa but around the world. At the time, rumours and speculation abounded: that the president would not relinquish the presidency after six months in office; that he might restructure the Court with loyal judges; or that the five justices could even be assassinated by the president’s supporters and beneficiaries of his rule. Yet none of this came to pass.
President Mutharika accepted the Court’s ruling, fresh elections were held, and—ironically—the opposition leader won by a significant margin. The president accepted the verdict of the ballot box, and power was transferred peacefully to the newly elected head of state. In this way, Malawi—the small, landlocked country—offered a unique example of transparency, democracy, and judicial integrity and independence, the like of which had not been seen before in a continent scarred by the struggle for power, whether through ballot boxes or at the barrel of a gun.
For this reason, the presidential elections held in mid-September this year were marked by calm and order, with everyone reassured that there existed an independent, transparent, and trustworthy judiciary to which they could turn, confident in its verdicts. Malawi’s experience demonstrates that any state seeking to establish a sound, transparent, and secure democratic system must first build a judiciary that is honest, independent, and transparent—one that guarantees the democratic process, prevents violations, and restores rights.
This is precisely the kind of experience we in Sudan are in dire need of, as we aspire to lay the foundations of a sound democratic order—one that may finally bring an end to the struggle for power which has plagued our country since independence.

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